The LSE’s shameless prostituting of its good name in return for Muammar Gaddafi’s blood money (as the Tory MP Robert Halfon has rightly called it) is as great a betrayal of the spirit of a university as there has ever been in Britain.

19.31 George Joffe, an expert on Libya at Cambridge University, has said Gaddafi's fate is entirely in the hands of his defenders in Tripoli - hundreds of mercenaries and a brigade led by and named after one of his sons, Khamis.

As long as they remain loyal to him, he can survive

19.25 Europe, the United States and the United Nations have committed $30 million to help refugees fleeing Libya.

19.20 Libyan opposition leader Ahmed Jabreel has called for western airstrikes on the Libyan regime, and said he is prepared to negotiate "one single thing - how Gaddafi is going to leave the country or step down so we can save lives."

We are not going to negotiate any political solution. We want him put on trial, but if we don't give him an exit, we know more people will be killed.

19.09 The Libyan opposition has rejected Venezuela's plan for mediation between the rebels and the regime. Mustafa Gheriani, a spokesman for the opposition council said:

It is too late. Too much blood has been spilt

18.55 Human Rights Watch has released a useful background note explaining how the International Criminal Court's investigation of Libya will proceed.

It is difficult to predict how long it might be between the beginning of an investigation and the issuance of arrest warrants or summonses. To date, the court's investigations have lasted between 10 and 20 months before the first arrest warrants have been issued.

18.48 Barack Obama, the US president, has said the US will "lead an international effort to deter further violence" in Libya, and warned that "those who perpetrate violence against the Libyan people will be held accountable."

The United States and the entire world continues to be outraged by the appalling violence against the Libyan people.

Going forward, we will continue to send a clear message: The violence must stop. Moamar Kadhafi has lost legitimacy to lead and he must leave.

18.45 Protesters in eastern Saudi Arabia, which holds much of the Kingdom's oil wealth, have staged protests calling for the release of prisoners who they say are being held without trial.

'Fighting is ongoing and we are successful and victorious God-willing,' these are the words of the revolutionaries still struggling.

18.34 Barack Obama, the US president, has said Col Gaddafi has lost the legitimacy to lead and "he must leave." Mr Obama also said he has authorised the use of US military aircraft to evacuate Egyptians stranded on the Libya-Tunisia border.

18.30: Shabaab Libya, a Libyan youth group is claiming on Twitter that young people are doing a better job of providing basic services in rebel-held areas than the regime ever did

Benghazi is cleaner than it has ever been in 42 years

18.01 A ship loaded with 1,000 tons of flour bound for Benghazi in eastern Libya returned to port tonight without delivering its cargo because of aerial bombardments in the area, the UN food aid agency said.

17.59 The AFP is reporting that a UN agency has had to turn back an aid ship over security concerns.

17.52 Canada is now proposing a law to freeze the assets of corrupt regimes including Libya.

17.38anjucomet a correspondent for Democracy Now! reports that Ghanaians and Bangladeshis are also among the refugees at the Libya/Tunisia border:

17.27 Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, Col Gaddafi's son, has been speaking to Sky News. He said the bombing of Brega was "just to frighten" opposition forces. Here are some other quotes:

It was very clear that they were militia and they tried to control the harbour. It's a red line, you cannot control the harbour

I'm talking about the harbour and the oil refinery there. Nobody would allow the militia to control Brega. It's like allowing someone to control Rotterdam harbour in Holland.

17.19 The U.S. Defense Department said it has evidence that the Libyan government of Muammar Gaddafi has been using air power. Pentagon spokesman Marine Colonel David Lapan said:

We have seen very clearly broadcast reports showing effects of air power being used. Whether or not those were used on rebels, I can't say but ... there is evidence they have used air assets and drop coordinates.

In 1986, Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi gave an interview to a group of female foreign journalists. Then he invited them, one by one, into a room furnished with just a bed and television and propositioned them. They rebuffed him, and after three successive rejections he got the message and gave up. But the incident reflects something important about Colonel Gaddafi that is worth remembering today: He’s nuts.

16:45 Saif-al-Islam Gaddafi is insisting that the Libyan regime doesn't mean to hurt anyone. He says the bombs are just to frighten away the rebels,

Not to kill them

16:36 What will the US do if Gaddafi hangs on to power? James Lindsay, of the Council for Foreign Affairs in Washington, says:

None of our options are terribly appealing, which is frequently the curse of the global superpower. Perhaps events will save us from having to decide.

16:29 The Arabic newspaper as-Sharq al-Awsat's English edition profiles the complex maze of tribal alliances that will, to a considerable extent, determine the Libyan regime's fate.

16:24 The Press Association is reporting that the British man killed in Libya yesterday was Khaled Attghdi, from Whalley Range in Manchester. The Foreign Office says:

We are aware of the reports and are urgently investigating

16:23 Shades of Libya in Yemen: the Arabic-language newspaper al-Tagheer is reporting that Captain Khalid Ali Yayha of the 1 Armoured Division has been arrested for joining the protesters there.

16:08 Reuters is reporting that that the Libyan government has accepted Hugo Chavez's peace plan, which calls for an international peacekeeping mission to mediate between the rebels and the regime. Financial analysts, though, seem sceptical about its prospects.

16:03 Benghazi seems to be preparing itself for a regime counter-offensive. The BBC's Lyse Doucet reports on Twitter that men as young as 15 are showing up for military training in Benghazi, and says that lots of anti-aircraft guns are being fired.

Seems like they're trying to show they can defend this city.

15:52 Egypt's al-Watan daily is reporting that the evacuation of Egyptians stranded along the Tunisian-Egyptian border has finally begun.

15:49 Libya was the scene of some the greatest battles of the Second World War. The US Holocuast Memorial Museum has an excellent article and photo gallery documenting the Allies' triumph over Nazi forces.

15:41 The last foreign archaeologists working in Libya have been evacuated, amid fears that the fighting could lead to the destruction of country's extraordinary heritage

10:00 Anders Fogh Rasmussen, Nato chief, says they have no intention of intervening in Libya but is planning for "all eventualities".

I would like to stress that Nato does not have any intention to intervene but as a defence alliance and security organisation we do prudent planning for all eventualities

09.44 Reuters is reporting that two Iranian navy ships have entered the Suez Canal and are expected to reach the Red Sea later in the day.

09.40 Meanwhile in Egypt, Ahmed Shafiq, Egypt's interim prime minister, has resigned. Egypt has not gone quiet, despite Libya's dominance of press coverage. Hundreds of demonstrators had continued to protest in Tahrir Square in Cairo demanding his ouster.

09.38 The International Criminal Court has announced that it will investigate 10-15 Libyan leaders for crimes against humanity over attacks against civilians - so says prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo in an interview with Spanish newspaper El Pais.

Libyan side of ras jedir crossing empty. New green flags up. Very fishy.

09:25 According to The Associated Press, witnesses say Libyan warplanes have struck rebel-held oil port in Brega, the area of a fierce battle between Gaddafi loyalists and rebels. In the nearby town of Ajdabiya, morgue officials say the death toll from fighting has risen to 14.

09:06 Beyonce, it turns out, donated her Gaddafi cash to charity last year. She got a reported $1million for singing five songs to his family at a party in the Caribbean. Nelly Furtado's PR beat her to it.

08:57 Those renewed attacks already appear to be under way, with government jets pounding the city, the BBC reports.

"There is no question that the rebels have held Brega this morning - the question is for how long? Opposition forces now have to work to secure the vital strategic oil town amid fears that there will be a new attack from Gaddafi forces. This morning is has been quiet but there are still jets flying overhead. It is premature to say it is an all-out victory for the rebels here just yet."

08:42 10,000 refugees crossed the Libyan border yesterday, the head of the UNHCR, Antonio Guterres, tells the BBC's Today programme, as he says it's time to help the poor.

"It's a logistic nightmare and an organisational nightmare that will last for weeks and we need the help of many countries. The rich countries have been able to take out their nationals but now it's time to help the poor countries," Antonio Guterres, UNHCR head.

08:34 If you need it, the UNHCR phone number for refugees and asylum seekers is +218214777503

08:31 The BBC reports that the peace plan centres on forming a bloc of friendly countries to help negotiate a way out of the crisis.

07:45 President Hugo Chavez of Venezuela, who has links to Gaddafi, has put forward a peace plan which is "under consideration", according to Amr Moussa, of the Arab League.

07:28 The US administration is attempting to calm those calling for a no-fly zone over Libya, emphasising that to impose one would necessitate a military operation to knock out the anti-aircraft defences involving "more aircraft than can be carried on one aircraft carrier".

"Let's just call a spade a spade: A no-fly zone begins with an attack on Libya," Robert Gates, US Secretary of Defence.

07:10 Rob Crilly, the Telegraph's man in Djerba, reports on the bizarre contrast of French tourists playing golf on palm-fringed Libyan courses while tens of thousands of displaced Egyptians and Bangladeshis fight for water.